Vapour Trails
by Queen Azura
Summary: A new mutant with a mysterious past comes to Bayville, but is she ready for the X-Men and are they ready for her?


****

Vapour Trails  
an X-Men Evolution fanfic

by Queen Azura

"You have got to be kidding me."

The school rose up above the head of the girl. Around the front doors, students were gathered in groups, laughing and talking. The doors swung open and closed as people entered the building, holding their books in their hands, and smiling happily. The sun shone brightly overhead and birds chirped in the tall trees.

"No joke, kid," the man beside her said. "Say hello to your new school."

The girl sighed heavily and pushed her thick brown hair out of her face. Her gray eyes scanned the building from top to bottom and her frown deepened. She had never been one for education, especially in a place that looked as cheerful as this one.

"Go on," the man urged. "Principal Darkholme is expecting you."

The girl glared at the driver of the white car and reached into the back seat for her backpack. Without a word, she threw open the door and got out, slamming the door hard behind her. She put on her dark sunglasses, tossed her backpack over her shoulder, adjusted her dark purple t-shirt, and threw her black jacket over her arm. She heard the car drive off behind her and she headed up the stairs of her new school, Bayville High.

******

"Check it out," Evan Daniels said, balancing his chemistry book on one corner. "I don't even need telekinetic powers for this!"

"Fascinating," Kurt Wagner said in a somewhat bored tone. "Bet you can't balance your yogurt on the corner."

"You're on, blue boy," Evan said, snatching his yogurt.

"Just keep that yogurt away form me," Jean Grey said from where she sat beside Evan.

As Kurt and Evan tried more precarious balancing acts, Kitty Pryde ran up to the table, clutching her books to her chest. She slid onto the bench next to Scott Summers and across from Evan.

"Like, you guys will never guess the news!" Kitty exclaimed.

"What's up, Kitty cat?" Kurt asked, his eyes never leaving Evan's growing stack.

"Darkholme accepted another new student!" Kitty said.

Scott and Jean exchanged worried glances. "Is she one of us?" Jean asked quietly.

Kitty shrugged. "I don't know. She won't talk to anyone. She only arrived this morning and stayed in Darkholme's office until a few minutes ago. I saw her walking down the hall."

"She could be another recruit for Lance and his gang," Scott mentioned, glancing across the cafeteria where Lance Alvers and his friends sat.

"Oh no!" Kurt exclaimed suddenly.

"Timber!" Evan cried.

The chemistry book-yogurt-sandwich-juice box-pencil case tower Evan and Kurt had been carefully constructing came crashing down. The yogurt headed toward Jean, who stopped it in mid air with a stern look. Kitty ducked behind Scott, who held up a tray to keep the juice box from splashing all over him. As Jean set the yogurt down, she shot a dirty look at Kurt and Evan. Evan smiled sheepishly and Kurt managed to look ashamed of himself beneath his grin.

"Sorry," they both said at once.

"Anyway," Kitty continued, coming out from behind Scott, "if you ask me, this new girl is, like, a total bully. I bet she's never smiled in her life!"

"Sounds like a challenge," Scott said. "If she does have mutant powers, the Professor will know. Keep your eyes peeled, guys. We may need to convince her of the winning side."

"What's her name?" Jean asked.

"Jasmine," Kitty replied. "Jasmine Price."

******

Rogue sat in her English class, bored as usual, listening as her teacher spoke about the poet of the week. Rogue felt the eyes on her as they always were, whispering and joking about her, but she ignored them as always. Instead, she focused on the person sitting across from her. Scott Summers was listening carefully to every word the teacher said, pausing only in his concentration to write a few notes. Rogue wished she had his patience but found it so difficult to concentrate, especially since this was the last class of the day.

Suddenly, the door to the classroom flew open and a tall girl with waist length brown hair walked in. Her face was a permanent scowl and she wore dark sunglasses, a purple t-shirt, black pants, and black boots. She didn't stop to speak to the teacher, but moved to the back of the room and sat heavily in a vacant chair behind Rogue's desk. She leaned back until her chair was balancing on two legs and looked expectantly at the teacher.

"Can I help you?" he said somewhat hesitantly.

"I'm in your class," the girl replied. "I'm new."

"I can see that," the teacher said. "Do you have your transfer papers?"

The girl rose to her feet and reached into her backpack. She pulled out a handful of crumpled papers and thrust them into the teacher's hands. She sat back down before he could unfold them and take a look.

"So, this is English, right?" she asked. "Do we have to read or something? Because I already know the language."

A few snickers passed through the class. The girl looked around appreciatively. Rogue noticed that Lance Alvers in the back row was paying particular attention to the new girl.

"Ah yes," the teacher said at last. "Price, Jasmine. Welcome to Bayville High."

Jasmine smiled at him and leaned back in her chair again. The teacher cleared his throat.

"Miss Price, we do not wear sunglasses indoors, nor do we lean in our chairs like that," he said sternly.

Jasmine paused for a moment before landing heavily on the ground and whipping off her sunglasses. Rogue looked over her shoulder at the girl seated behind her and saw that her eyes were a misty gray colour. Jasmine noticed Rogue staring and glared at the girl. Rogue returned the gaze before slowly turning around to face the teacher. Behind her, Jasmine chuckled.

When the class ended, Rogue felt a tight grip on her shoulder as she rose to leave. She turned to face Jasmine and shrugged the hand off of her. Jasmine raised an eyebrow in surprise and then actually smiled. Rogue found her smile more unsettling than her frown, since it showed her teeth in a very feral manner.

"Easy, girlie," Jasmine said. "I wasn't going to bite."

"I wasn't worried about that," Rogue replied.

Jasmine laughed. "I think we're getting off on the wrong foot. I'm Jasmine, from Chicago."

"Rogue," the other girl introduced herself.

"Rogue?" Jasmine repeated. "Strange name, girlie. Does it mean something?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Rogue answered, moving away from her desk. She saw that Scott was waiting for her outside the classroom. He smiled at her, but his face hardened when he saw who followed.

"Is she bothering you, Rogue?" Scott asked.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Jasmine asked.

"No," Rogue replied. "To both your questions. Go ahead, Scott. I'll catch up later."

Scott shrugged and walked down the hall, disappearing in the growing crowd. Jasmine waited until he was completely out of sight before falling into step beside Rogue again.

"Sorry to scare you, Rogue," Jasmine said. "Of all the clowns in this school, you seem the most normal. You're not all cheerleader-y or snobby."

"That stuff sickens me," Rogue replied with a shudder.

"Me, too," Jasmine said. "I knew we'd have a lot in common."

The girls walked until they were at the front of the school. When Jasmine appeared outside, a waiting white car honked at her. She frowned and turned back to it to look at Rogue.

"What do you do for fun in this town?" she asked.

Rogue shrugged. "Not much. There's a dance club that Kitty likes to go to"

"Kitty?" Jasmine laughed. "Is that a real person?"

"Yes it is," a new voice said angrily.

Rogue and Jasmine turned to see Kitty standing behind them. Rogue bit her lip and lowered her eyes, but Jasmine's face turned hard again.

"Did I hurt the poor pussy cat's feelings?" Jasmine pouted mockingly. "Sorry, kitten. Maybe a nice mouse will make you feel better."

"Like, cut it out," Kitty retorted. "Get a life or something."

Jasmine snorted with laughter and headed to the white car. She waved to Rogue as she left. "Tomorrow, Rogue. We'll paint the town red."

As the white car drove away, Kitty turned to Rogue. "What was that about?"

"I don't know," Rogue replied. 

******

Later that evening, before bedtime, Professor Xavier called a meeting of the X-Men. They all sat by a roaring fire; Jean and Kitty on the small couch with Rogue between them, Scott standing behind them, Evan seated on the ground in front of the fireplace, and Kurt hanging by his tail from the chandelier. Storm, also known as Ororo Munroe, sat across from them in one of the two wingback chairs. Wolverine, or Logan, was standing behind her and Professor Xavier was in the centre, commanding the attention of all of them.

"Cerebro has found a new mutant at Bayville by the name of Jasmine Price," Xavier said. "Apparently, Magneto and Mystique were able to bring her here without force or persuasion."

"I bet they invited her personally," Kitty said under her breath.

"What's her ability?" Jean asked.

"She goes by the name Vapour," Xavier replied. "She is able to transform herself into mist."

"What's she doing in Bayville?" Kurt asked from the chandelier.

"Kurt, I thought I told you not to hang from the light fixtures," Storm said, noticing him for the first time when he spoke. "You'll pull the ceiling down again."

Kurt disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared sitting next to Evan on the floor. "Sorry."

"To answer your question," Xavier said, "I'm not sure. Cerebro was a bit sketchy on the details of her life, but watch out for her. If Mystique wants her, then she could be dangerous."

"Mystique probably won't have to try very hard on this one," Kitty spoke up. "She's as bad as they come. Worse than Lance, even."

"Then this will be quite a challenge for you X-Men," Xavier replied. "Now, off to bed. You all have school tomorrow."

******

"How was your first day of school?" the man asked.

"Knock off the parent role, Pops," Jasmine replied. "You're not the father type."

The man referred to as Pops shrugged and sat down at the table across from her. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands and his elbows on the table. Jasmine ignored his stare as long as she could, but he was a patient man and waited until she turned to look at him.

"Take a picture," Jasmine said. "It lasts longer."

"If you don't try," Pops told her, "you'll be right back where you started. I'm taking a big risk on you, Jas, so enough with the tough girl act."

"It's no act," Jasmine assured him. "Now, unless you've got handcuffs you think can hold me, I'm going out."

"Your curfew is midnight," Pops reminded her.

Jasmine glanced up at the clock. It was only eight o'clock and the sun had set just a few minutes ago. Jasmine picked up her jacket and slid it on.

"I'll be back by midnight," Jasmine said. "But don't wait up."

******

Jasmine walked the dark streets of Bayville, enjoying the darkness and the silence. There was a slight chill in the air, enough to make her glad she wore her jacket, but not enough to make her feel cold. She had been wandering for a few hours, observing the people on their way home, where they would sleep before returning to their dull jobs. Jasmine had never been one for schedules.

She passed a group of boys who were standing outside a closed store. They watched her walk, and she looked at each of them with interest. One was a very large boy with a blonde, short mohawk; another crouched on the ground and had greenish skin; another with white hair tapped his foot impatiently, and the fourth with shoulder length brown hair seemed unable to keep his eyes off of Jasmine.

"Hey you," the brown haired boy called.

Jasmine stopped and turned around. The boy smiled and caught up to her.

"You're in my English class," he said.

"You don't look like studious type," Jasmine remarked.

The boy laughed. "I'm Lance, and these are my boys. Fred, Todd, and Pietro. You look like the kind of girl who might enjoy our particular company."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow. "Now what could you possibly mean by that?"

"Only that we each have special talents that you might find comforting, given your own uniqueness," Lance continued. "Take myself, for example. They call me Avalanche."

Lance concentrated and the ground began to shake beneath Jasmine's feet. The buildings trembled and threatened to fall. Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.

"Let me guess the others," she said. "I like games. The big boy, Fred, is called the Over Eater, and the little guy Todd is the Slime?"

Pietro laughed while Fred and Todd seemed insulted. 

"Not at all," Pietro said, speaking very quickly. "Fred is the Blob and is super strong and Todd also goes by Toad for obvious reasons. I'm called Quicksilver because I'm the fastest thing in the world."

Jasmine seemed bored. "All right. So you four sat around thinking up cute nicknames for each other. What does that have to do with me?"

"We hear that you have talents as well," Lance said. "We thought the five of us might be able to do some damage to this sleepy town."

"Damage?" Jasmine said. "Now you have my attention, Shakey. I was wondering what there was do to in this one horse town."

"Not so fast," Lance interrupted. "We showed you ours, now you show us yours."

Jasmine smiled. "Back home, they called me Vapour."

As she spoke, her body began to dematerialize and fade into a mist. It floated up into a cloud shape and hovered above their heads for a moment before a mouth appeared in the mist.

"Satisfied, boys?" the cloud asked.

Lance smiled as Vapour rematerialized in front of him. "Welcome to the team." 

******

Rogue was brushing her teeth in the bathroom the next morning when Kitty came in. As usual, the two girls ignored each other while they got ready for school. They each eyed the other as they styled their hair and put on their make-up, but as Rogue was leaving to go eat breakfast, Kitty caught her by the arm.

"Be careful," she said. "I don't trust the new girl."

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "Worried that I might get my feelings hurt?"

Kitty bit her lower lip. "Not exactly. Just be careful."

Rogue rolled her eyes and left the bathroom. She headed down to the kitchen, where Kurt and Scott were already eating. Kurt had not yet activated the holoprojector which gave him a more human appearance and was wolfing down his third bowl of cereal. Scott was watching the morning news as he ate a piece of toast. 

"Morning Handsome, Fuzzball," Rogue said.

"Are you going to just let that go?" Kurt asked Scott.

The older boy looked puzzled. "Let what go?"

"She called you a fuzzball," Kurt told him. "Personally, I would be offended if I was you."

Scott smiled and Rogue rolled her eyes. "Are you going to save some cereal for the rest of us?" she asked.

"Only if you hurry," Kurt replied.

Kitty came into the kitchen as they spoke and reached over Scott's shoulder for the milk. As she did, she saw the television and a familiar scene.

"Hey!" she said. "That's our school!"

Scott leaned forward to turn up the volume on the television and the room fell silent as the X-Men listened carefully to the report.

"A midnight vandalism of Bayville High is the fourth reported vandalism last night," the reporter was saying. "No alarms were triggered during the night, suggesting that whoever it was had keys to the various buildings."

"I'll bet it was that new girl," Kitty said. "She's probably an escaped convict or something."

"Easy, Kitty," Scott said. "We don't have any proof that Jasmine was involved."

"Maybe it was your boyfriend, Lance," Rogue said. 

Kitty shot her a dirty look. Evan raced into the kitchen and grabbed an apple. He was already carrying his backpack and skateboard.

"Guys!" he exclaimed. "Move it! We're going to be late!"

Scott and the others glanced up at the clock. In a split second, they were all moving to leave for school.

******

Jean and Scott stood in the hallway by Scott's locker. A few feet away, Jasmine was at her own locker shoving books into her backpack. Jean watched her warily, her arms crossed over her chest. Scott put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Just like you always do," he said. "You have a real talent for this."

Jeans smiled up at him. "Thanks, Scott. I really hope I can get through to her."

"You're one of the most popular girls in school," Scott said. "If anyone can, it's you."

Jean took a deep breath and walked down the hall, her eyes never leaving her target. Jasmine continued to gather her books, either oblivious to Jean's approach or ignoring it. When Jean was close enough, Jasmine slammed her locker shut and spun around to face the redhead.

"What?" Jasmine demanded.

Jean was taken aback. "Um, my name is Jean Grey. I just wanted to welcome you to Bayville."

Jasmine tilted her head and looked Jean up and down. 

"Let me guess," Jasmine said. "Cheerleader? Popular? Dating a football player?"

Jean blinked in surprise. Jasmine smiled wickedly and shouldered her backpack.

"Listen Red," Jasmine told her. "I don't appreciate the welcome wagon like most of the yahoos at this school. I'm behaving because I have to. Remember that, and stay out of my way."

Before Jean could think of a reply, Jasmine stalked away. Jean stood in the same place, staring at her retreating back as Scott approached. 

"Struck out?" he asked.

Jean shook her head. "Like Kitty said, Mystique probably didn't have to try very hard to persuade her to join."

"Then we've got our work cut out for us," Scott said.

The bell rang, and they headed off in opposite directions for class.

******

Rogue didn't see Jasmine until her English class. The girl walked in late with her usual scowl on her face, but winked at Rogue as she walked past. She waved to Lance and sat behind Rogue as the class began.

"New friends?" Rogue asked quietly.

"Who? Lance?" Jasmine replied. "I suppose."

"Ladies," the teacher interrupted. "Please don't talk in class."

"Meet me outside the gym after school," Jasmine whispered as Rogue turned to look at the teacher. 

For the rest of the class, Rogue wondered what Jasmine wanted to talk to her about. She mentioned it to Scott after class, and he seemed genuinely concerned with her safety. Rogue told him to relax, that she would win Jasmine over to the X-Men, but as she stood alone behind the gym, she began to have her doubts.

"Hey, Rogue!" Jasmine called.

Rogue turned to see the girl and Lance heading towards her. As soon as Lance saw her, his face grew stony. Rogue likewise was disgusted at his presence. Jasmine ignored both reactions.

"We're going to have some fun tonight," Jasmine told her. "Interested?"

"I didn't know you were inviting one of Xavier's dopes," Lance objected.

Rogue glared at him and he glared back. Jasmine looked from Lance to Rogue in confusion.

"Who's Xavier?" she asked.

"Professor Xavier," Rogue said, stressing his title, "is the founder of the School for Gifted Youngsters, which we call the Institute. It's a place for special kids to learn to control their abilities."

"You mean mutants?" Jasmine asked bluntly. "Are you a mutant, Rogue?"

Rogue looked uncomfortable for a moment before answering, "yes."

Jasmine brightened. "Me, too! I knew there was other things we had in common." She dug her hand into the backpack and handed something to Rogue. "Here, I made you a present."

Rogue took the object in her gloved hand and turned it over. It was small and flat, like a make-up compact, only heavier. She opened the lid to find powder and a mirror inside.

"Make-up?" Rogue asked.

"Better," Jasmine said. "The mirror is really a mini television. You can listen to it by putting the brush up to your ear and you can change channels by tapping the powder. Better than our dull English poems, don't you think?"

"You made this?" Rogue questioned. 

"I like to tinker with electronics," Jasmine admitted. "It comes in useful sometimes."

"Are we going or what?" Lance demanded. 

"Coming?" Jasmine asked. "We're off to do some window shopping for later tonight."

"No thanks," Rogue replied. "I promised the professor I'd help him with some things tonight."

"At your Institute?" Jasmine sneered. "It can't be a nice place if they don't let you have fun."

"You should come visit sometime," Rogue said. "It's a lot more fun than Lance here makes it sound."

Jasmine shrugged. "Maybe another time. Well, see ya later, Rogue."

She turned and walked off with Lance only a step behind her. Rogue watched them go and then looked down at the small television in her hand. Jasmine was a strange girl and Rogue wondered what kind of trouble she would get herself into.

******

"You have to watch out for Xavier's students, Jas," Lance said as they walked down the street. "Xavier is creating an army of mutants whose sole purpose is to destroy people like us."

Jasmine kept walking as if Lance wasn't speaking. The mention of an army caught her attention.

"People like us?" Jasmine repeated, glancing over her shoulder at Lance. "You mean, like a police force?"

"Exactly," Lance said, moving ahead of Jasmine to speak to her face to face. "Xavier and his goody-goody students are like the mutant police. They want to make sure mutants never use their powers, that they suppress them and act normal."

"Is that why Rogue seemed so ashamed to admit her power?" Jasmine asked. "What a stupid idea. Mutants like us should be running this world. We're obviously superior."

"My thoughts precisely," Lance said. "So, what are we going to destroy tonight?"

Jasmine ignored the question and kept walking. Lance fell silent and followed her, curious to know what she had in mind. They walked to the edge of the town where a large number of warehouses stood. Jasmine pointed to one surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by armed men.

"That one," she said. "The police munitions warehouse."

Lance licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. "Excellent."

"I want my hands on enough firepower to keep Xavier's crazy police force away from me," Jasmine continued. "No one is going to stop me again."

******

Rogue sat in the common area of the Institute, staring at the black compact television in her hand, lost in thought. She knew Jasmine was a bad egg, she'd known that from the moment she first laid eyes on her, but somehow they connected. The only problem was that Jasmine was running around with Mystique's gang when she should be at the Institute with people who actually care. Rogue faced a major dilemma. How would she convince Jasmine to come and meet Professor Xavier? How do you make a bad egg good again?

"A penny for your thoughts, Rogue."

Startled by the sudden noise, Rogue dropped her compact. Jean bent down to pick it up and looked at it.

"What is this?" she asked.

"A gift," Rogue said as she took it back from Jean, "from Jasmine."

Jean nodded. "I noticed the two of you seem to be friends. I hope you have better luck with her than I did."

"I think we are friends," Rogue agreed. "The only problem is that all she's interested in is wreaking havoc. I don't know how to convince her to come here."

Jean smiled. "It seems we were faced with a similar problem not long ago. Give her time, Rogue. She'll realize what's right."

Jean patted her friend on the shoulder and continued on her way. Rogue watched her go and glanced back down at the compact.

"But does she know what's right?" Rogue asked herself.

******

"You guys know what to do once I deactivate the alarms, right?" Vapour asked.

She was dressed in a pale gray skintight cat-suit and wore a mask over her eyes. Her long brown hair hung loose down her back and gray gloves were on her hands. Avalanche, Toad, Blob, and Quicksilver were all there, each wearing their respective costumes.

"Toad leaps the fence to let us in, I get rid of the guards, Blob gets the door, and Quicksilver get the stuff," Avalanche repeated.

Vapour nodded. "Good job. Here we go."

She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her body dematerialized and became vaporous, like her namesake. Slowly, she drifted over the fence and into the ventilation system of the warehouse. She navigated her way through the ducts and floated through the vent into the central command centre. She noticed that there were more guards than she had anticipated, but she was certain her team would be able to handle it. Carefully, she touched down behind the bored looking controller and rematerialized. The man turned in his chair and his eyes widened in shock.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You're not — "

Vapour silenced him with a swift punch, knocking him from his chair and onto the floor. She quickly sat down and began to try to disengage the alarms. 

******

Rogue wandered through the Institute until she found herself at Professor Xavier's office. Shyly, she knocked and was rewarded with an invitation to enter. She pushed open the large wooden doors and entered the room. The professor sat behind his desk, his Cerebro helmet beside him. He beckoned for Rogue to come closer, and she did.

"Good evening, Rogue," he said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Rogue bit her lip. "Um, I was just worried about Jasmine. I think she was the one who vandalized those stores last night and I think she's doing something again tonight."

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," Rogue said. "Do you think you could check on her? Using Cerebro, I mean. I just want to make sure she's not in trouble."

Xavier frowned. "You know I don't like to use my powers for spying. It's not what the X-Men stand for. I'm sure your friend is fine."

Rogue nodded. "Thanks anyway, Professor."

"I would like to meet her, if you can convince her to come here," Xavier reminded her. "Whenever she's ready, of course."

Rogue smiled. "Of course. I will, Professor. Thanks."

Xavier smiled back and Rogue left the office. With a sigh, Xavier got back to his paperwork.

******

Vapour swore as she keyed in the wrong password again. She knew that in most systems, three times and you were out. She had tried to bypass the whole system, but had found that everything she did brought her back to one locked area. She began another sequence of codes when suddenly the door to the control booth opened and a man with a gun walked in.

"What the — " he exclaimed, raising his weapon. He used his other hand to slap a large button on the wall, which immediately triggered the alarms. Vapour swore.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to avoid that?" she asked the man.

"Put your hands up!" the man yelled.

Vapour obeyed, but a smile played across her face. As the man fumbled for the handcuffs at his waist, Vapour began to dematerialize. Before the man knew it, he was alone in the room, except for the unconscious controller, and the mysterious intruder had vanished. Above his head, a small puff of smoke drifted into the vent.

******

Alarms began to sound at the Institute. The X-Men hurried to the central commons room, where they met Xavier by the door.

"The police munitions warehouse," Xavier said. "The alarm was just sounded. Hurry!"

His students nodded and headed for the Blackbird, where Storm and Wolverine were already waiting.

******

"Alarms!" Quicksilver exclaimed. "It's getting too hot here. I'm leaving."

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, he had sped off. Toad and Blob followed after him without a backwards glance. Avalanche looked at the warehouse. It was teeming with guards and policemen. He shrugged and left, abandoning Vapour inside.

******

Nightcrawler appeared inside the warehouse, clinging to the ceiling and looking around. Police ran all over the place beneath him, but he saw no signs of an intruder. He disappeared and reappeared outside, where his team mates were hiding.

"No bad guys," he reported.

"Jasmine," Rogue whispered. 

Wolverine nodded. "We'll cover all vents and ducts. I'll cover one wall and Storm'll cover the roof. You guys pair off and each cover a wall. Look for smoke or fog or mist. Got it?"

The others nodded. Jean and Scott headed in one direction, Nightcrawler grabbed Spyke's arm and vanished. That left Rogue and Kitty.

"Come on," Rogue said in an exasperated tone. 

"Like, this wasn't my choice either," Kitty said as she followed Rogue.

******

Vapour took so many twists and turns that she became hopelessly lost in the ductwork. Now and then, she passed an opening that showed her the whole warehouse was crawling with police. She didn't want to risk leaving the ducts and being stepped on — vapour form or not, it still hurt her to be squashed or separated. With a misty sigh, she kept moving forward.

******

"Well?" Rogue asked.

"Only way out on this wall is an industrial size fan near the roof," Kitty reported. "Did you find anything?"

"No traces of anything. The guards don't seem to be coming this way too often anyway," Rogue replied.

"Even if they did," Kitty said, "we can phase through the wall. I checked. There's a small storage closet or something on the other side of this wall."

Rogue smiled. "As long as I don't have to absorb your powers again."

Kitty returned the grin. "The feeling is, like, totally mutual."

******

Vapour rounded a corner and felt herself being caught in a powerful current of some sort. She glanced down the duct and saw a huge, rapidly rotating fan at the other end. She must have stumbled on an exhaust pipe! Try as she might, she couldn't break free of the current without resuming her normal form, and the pipe was far too small for her to do that. She could only stare in horror as the sharp fan blades became closer and closer to her vaporous body. Right before she was sucked through, she made a final grab at the pipe, but it was no use. 

The pain of the fan blades was more than she could stand. She felt herself being sliced more than once, and each time it took all her energy to remain in her gaseous state. The grate on the other side of the fan blades had holes far too small for her to pass through, and she felt her body tear into pieces as the fan forced her through. On the outside, the pain became too much, and she lost consciousness.

******

"Rogue!" Kitty exclaimed, pointing.

A body had suddenly materialized in front of the industrial fan and was plummeting to the ground. Rogue ran to try and catch it before it struck, but was surprised to see it suddenly disappear in a puff of smoke. Rogue slid to a halt as Nightcrawler appeared in front of her, holding the battered and bleeding body of Vapour in his arms.

"Nightcrawler!" Rogue gasped. "How did you do that?"

"Spyke and I were on our way to check on you guys when I saw the girl fall," the blue X-Man replied. "Pretty good catch, huh?"

Kitty ran to Rogue's side. "I called the others. They're going to meet us at the jet. Is she okay?"

"She's alive," Rogue said. "Can you teleport her back to the Blackbird?"

"No problem," Nightcrawler said as he vanished.

Spyke appeared from around the corner. He waved for them to come with him, and the two girls left the warehouse. As the black jet flew over the building, none of the police inside knew that the intruder they were searching for was already gone.

******

The next day was Saturday, and as a reward for the previous night's mission, Xavier had decided to give his students the day off. Kitty had immediately gone to the mall with Jean, and Kurt and Scott were running battle simulations. Spyke was practicing his skateboarding in the garden, and the professor had left early that morning with Ororo and Logan. Alone in the mansion, Rogue headed to the infirmary to check on Jasmine.

The girl was seriously hurt. Xavier had explained to Rogue that the nature of Jasmine's mutation was not like Kitty's. Jasmine could become a gas, but had to keep herself together while in that state. She could not pass through solid objects, and could still be hurt in her cloud form. He had also added that she was lucky to be alive after passing through the sharp fan blades, and that her wounds would heal with time.

Rogue hesitated in the doorway. She could hear the steady beeps of the machine monitoring Jasmine's pulse. The girl lay on a bed in the centre of the room, bandaged almost from head to toe. Rogue pulled up a chair and sat next to her friend's head.

"Why did you do it?" Rogue asked, her quiet voice still echoing off the walls. "Why do you act so tough all the time? Is it an act?"

Carefully, Rogue removed one of her gloves. She had to know what was going on in Jasmine's mind if she was going to help her. Rogue touched one finger to Jasmine's hand and reeled at the images that flashed in front of her eyes.

******

_"Get out! You're no child of mine!"_

The eight year old girl stumbled backwards away from her father. The angry man fumbled behind him along the kitchen counter for a weapon, his eyes never leaving the gray eyes of the girl. His hand closed around a glass bottle, and he swung it at her like a club.

"Get out!" he screamed.

Blinded by tears, the girl ran. She stumbled down the hallway of her home, past the bedrooms of her brothers, and into her parents' room. She found her mother there, sitting next to the large window.

"Mommy," the girl sobbed, stretching out her arms to be picked up.

The woman looked down at the girl and folded her arms around her chest, hugging herself instead of her child. The girl stared up at her with tear filled eyes, but her mother refused to touch her. Sadly, she backed away and nearly ran into the man she had been trying to avoid.

"Leave this house!" her father yelled.

Too scared to control herself, the eight year old girl faded into a gaseous cloud and drifted out of the open bedroom window. Her father firmly closed it behind her.

******

Jasmine moaned in her sleep, tossing her head slightly. Rogue stared at the girl with tears in her eyes. She sniffed and wiped her face with the back of her hand, but her eyes never left the face of the injured girl. 

"Rogue? Is that you in there?"

Rogue turned to see Scott and Kurt standing in the doorway of the infirmary. They were both dressed in their battle costumes, but each had an expression of worry on his face.

"The door was open," Kurt said by way of explanation.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked, noticing her tears. "Don't worry. The professor said she'd be just fine in a few days."

Rogue forced a smile, glad her friends misinterpreted her tears as worry rather than sadness. She stood and headed toward them. Scott returned the grin and disappeared down the hall. Kurt waited in the doorway until Rogue was next to him.

"Uh, Rogue?" Kurt said, pointing at her legs.

She looked down and saw that her legs had dematerialized into a fog. With a shrug, she returned them to normal and followed Scott down the hall.

******

Rogue was more quiet than usual that night. She ate her dinner in silence, ignoring Kitty's ceaseless chattering, and went to bed early. She was troubled by what she had seen of Jasmine's life. The rest of the X-Men, used to Rogue's solitary behaviour, acted as if nothing was wrong. Only Kitty seemed uneasy at having the unconscious Vapour in the house.

"Honestly, she'll go totally ballistic on us," Kitty insisted, debating with the others in the hallway before going to sleep.

"Calm down," Scott told her. "Vapour has been unconscious all day. I'm sure she'll sleep through the night, and maybe even all day tomorrow. The professor said she was hurt pretty bad."

"Yeah, Kitty," Kurt piped up, "you can always go and check on her."

Kitty sighed. "I just get a weird feeling around her."

"She'll be gone soon," Scott assured her. "Just relax and go to bed."

Kitty nodded and the group split up into their own bedrooms. 

******

Jasmine slowly opened her eyes to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling. It was dark in the room, but not pitch black. She could see the shadowed forms of the furniture and machines around her and guessed that the faint light was coming from a doorway. The ceiling was not like any hospital ceiling she had ever seen, and she had seen plenty during her life. It was solid steel, the smooth silvery surface not even punctuated by lights. Jasmine didn't know where she was, and she became concerned.

She remembered being sucked through the fan at the warehouse and for a moment she thought that somehow Lance or Pietro had caught her, but she knew those boys were untrustworthy and dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come. That only left two choices — either she was in a strange hospital somewhere, or in prison. Either way, she had to get out.

She sat up and was immediately struck by a wave of dizziness. Holding her hand to her head, she waited for it to pass, and noticed that she was bandaged nearly from head to foot. Someone had taken the time and care to see that she survived. Her curiousity about this strange place increased. She tried to dematerialize, but found herself too sore and weak to hold her vaporous form. With a shrug, she slid out of bed and unplugged herself from the various machines. She had other talents she could rely on.

Softly, she padded her way across the cold floor on bare feet. She wore a hospital-type gown that was knee length and closed in the back. She reached the door where a sliver of light shone from underneath and began to feel for a doorknob. She was surprised when she found none, so she instead searched for an electrical panel. Using only the faint light from the door crack, she managed to short a few wires and open the door. The room was flooded with light and Jasmine had to wait until her eyes adjusted before she crept into the hallway.

Judging from the lack of windows and the low ceiling, Jasmine guessed she was underground somewhere. Her thoughts immediately turned to prison. Perhaps Xavier's mutant police had a mutant prison where they were holding her. There would be time to speculate later, once she was safely away. She thought briefly of Pops and how angry he must be. She was sure she was very late for her curfew.

Jasmine followed the hallway, counting the doors she passed incase she needed to make a quick getaway. At the end of the hall was an elevator, which surprised Jasmine further. She expected stairs in a prison. She pushed the button and waited as the elevator descended. The doors slid open and she checked inside the machine and down the hall to make sure she wasn't followed before entering. When the doors opened on the first floor, she cautiously checked the room again for guards before emerging from the elevator. 

Ahead of her loomed the large wooden doors which would lead outside and to freedom. She smiled, ignoring the pain she had been feeling with every step, and headed to the doors. She was almost there when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Turning around, she saw a man seated in a wheelchair and another man with short hair and gruff expressions. 

"Going somewhere?" the gruff man asked.

"You can't keep me here," Jasmine said, inching closer to the door. She didn't know how long she could hold her gaseous form in her injured state.

"Please," the man in the wheelchair pleaded, "we won't hurt you. We're here to help."

"I've heard about your mutant police," Jasmine said. "I won't let you hold me here. Nothing can hold Vapour!"

She dematerialized and every inch of her body cried out in protest. She forced herself under the door and even made it down the steps before she lost consciousness again. Logan opened the door and descended the steps to pick her up and hold her gently in his arms. 

"Where should I put her, Professor?" Logan asked.

Xavier glanced up at the sky. It was already beginning to grow lighter with the dawning of the new day. "Put her in my office. I'll stay with her until she wakes again."

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Logan volunteered.

Xavier smiled. "Thank you, Logan, but I think perhaps someone else should be there instead."

******

Jasmine opened her eyes the second time to a completely different ceiling. This one was white, and the room in which she found herself was airy and full of sunlight. She was not on a bed, but a leather sofa, and she saw the bald man in the wheelchair smiling down at her.

"Careful," he warned as she tried to sit up. "I can't guarantee you'll heal if you keep exerting yourself."

"Who are you?" Jasmine demanded. "What do you want?"

The man smiled. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier, and this is my school. All I want is for you to take a tour and see if you would like to stay."

"Stay?" Jasmine repeated. "I can't stay."

"Why not?" a new voice asked.

Jasmine and Xavier turned to see Rogue standing in the doorway. She still wore her pyjamas and was wrapped in a gray robe. Xavier motioned for her to enter.

"Good morning, Rogue," he said. "Your friend here has just woken up."

"Rogue?" Jasmine said. "Lance was right. You are part of the mutant police."

Rogue frowned. "What mutant police? Professor Xavier is teaching me and the other mutants here how to control our powers, so we're not so scary to normal people."

"Good luck with that," Jasmine remarked dryly. 

"As I was saying," Xavier continued, "this school offers you a unique opportunity to learn to master your powers, and to join a team that will help all mutants learn that because they are different does not mean they should be shunned. We promote awareness and acceptance, not destruction and fear."

"Fear is all I have, Professor," Jasmine said. "If everyone respected my powers, I would have died on the streets years ago."

Xavier's eyes widened in surprise. 

"Does that shock you, Teach?" Jasmine continued. "Does it surprise you that my mother refused to touch me the first time my powers emerged when I was a baby? That my father threw me out of the house when I was eight years old? That I've been living on the streets, stealing my food and money, just to survive? Why should I try to help a society like that understand?"

"So it doesn't happen to another little girl," Rogue said quietly. "So the next mutant born will get to live with their parents."

"But that doesn't help me," Jasmine said. "You don't understand what I've been through."

Rogue shyly approached the sofa where Jasmine sat. Xavier backed off, allowing the girls to ignore and forget his presence. Rogue took Jasmine's hand into her own gloved hand and stared into her gray eyes.

"I understand you, Jasmine," Rogue said, "because I've seen what you just described."

"What, you're a mind reader?" Jasmine asked.

Rogue shook her head. "I can absorb the energy and memories of anyone I touch. For mutants, that includes powers. That's why I wear gloves. I — I wanted to know why you were so tough, so I touched you. I saw your memories. I'm sorry, Jasmine, but I had to know."

Jasmine stared at her in horror. Just then, a blue creature appeared in a puff of smoke in the middle of the room, holding a tray of food. Jasmine jumped, but Xavier and Rogue only looked at him with mild annoyance.

"Breakfast, anyone?" he asked.

"Kurt, we're doing something rather important right now," Xavier said.

Kurt glanced over at the sofa and smiled. "Oops. Sorry, I didn't know she was awake. Well, if we're having a party, I might as well put on my costume."

He touched his wrist watch and his blue exterior was covered over by a more human like appearance. Jasmine blinked.

"That's your mutant power? You can look blue?" she asked.

"No," Kurt replied. "The blue fuzziness is just part of the package. What I really do —" he vanished into thin air. A split second later, he reappeared standing next to the sofa , "- is teleport. Neat, huh?"

"Amazing," Jasmine breathed. "So this whole place is for mutants only? No normal people allowed?"  
Xavier smiled. "Pretty much."

Jasmine looked around. "I might like to stay, but Pops would never let me."

"Pops?" Rogue repeated. "But I thought your father"

"Oh, Pops isn't my father," Jasmine said. Her eyes widened in sudden panic, "but he is going to kill me! What day is it?"

"Sunday," Kurt replied, biting into an apple.

"Do you have a phone in this crazy place?" Jasmine asked.

"Of course," Xavier replied. "What for?"

"I broke curfew," Jasmine explained. "If I don't have a damned good explanation why, I'll go back to prison."

******

Rogue and Jasmine sat outside Professor Xavier's office, waiting silently. Jasmine had phoned the man she called Pops, and he had been angry but had agreed to come to the Institute to get her. He had been speaking with Xavier for quite some time. 

"Want to tell me the whole story?" Rogue asked, breaking the quietness.

Jasmine turned to look at her. "Why don't you just suck it out of me?"

Rogue bit her lip and looked injured. Jasmine forced a grin. "Sorry, Rogue. Old habits die hard, I suppose."

"Yeah," Rogue agreed, looking at her own gloved hands.

Jasmine sighed. "I was caught stealing when I was fourteen. It was a dumb mistake, actually. I accidentally tripped an alarm when I was already in the building. The doors were all locked and I had got in through a cracked window. Anyway, the Chicago PD aren't what you'd call mutant friendly. Even though I was just a kid, they tried me as an adult since I had strange powers. I was thrown into a maximum security prison for two years."

"Wow," Rogue said. 

Jasmine shrugged. "It was easy for me to hide, so I wasn't a victim of the tougher crooks in there. Actually, I became a favourite of one of the more powerful inmates. He's the one who started calling me Vapour'. I'd sneak around and steal things for him in return for protection. Truthfully, most of the prisoners were wary of me since I was the only one who had a glass box for a cell. That's how I met Pops. About a year and a half ago, he heard about my case and came to visit. I became a sort of hobby for him and when I was up for parole a few months ago, he vouched for me and I became his responsibility. He packed up and moved with me to Bayville so I'd have a chance at a normal childhood."

"Why Bayville?" Rogue asked. 

"Pops never said why," Jasmine admitted. "I think the principal of the school here wrote him a letter saying that a trouble child like me would be welcomed. It was the best offer he could hope for, taking into account my very long rap sheet." 

They were quiet for another few minutes. "Do you think you'd like to stay here?" Rogue asked.

Jasmine smiled. "I'm not sure. It's the first place I've been able to be myself in a long time. The people here seem nice, too. Of course, I haven't seen much of it."

Rogue jumped to her feet. "Well, I'll give you the grand tour! Follow me."

Jasmine winced as she stood and Rogue offered her a hand for support. Jasmine hesitated for an instant, then accepted the offered arm and the two girls headed down the hall of the Institute.

******

"Well, Detective," Professor Xavier said as he and Pops came out of his office, "I hope everything is in order."

Twenty-five year old Detective James Price smiled and shook hands with Xavier. He put the paper work he and the professor had been going over into his pocket and looked around the Institute a final time.

"She'll be safe here," Xavier assured him. "We'll keep an eye on her."

"I hope so, Professor," Detective Price said with a smile. "She can be a handful."

Xavier escorted the detective to the door. Before he opened it, he hesitated and turned back.

"Tell her," he began.

Xavier smiled. "I will."

"She's my kid sister," Detective Price said by way of explanation. "Even if she doesn't remember me, I want her to be happy."

Xavier nodded and James Pops' Price headed out the door, leaving his charge and sister to the X-Men.


End file.
